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Workforce scheduling · September 2026 Edition

Deputy vs Sling

Five of twelve models named Deputy first on the direct prompt; zero named Sling. Deputy was named by eleven of the twelve models and Sling by twelve and Deputy carries 26 labels and Sling 18, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Deputy

accepted challenger

Named in eight categories this edition.

Sling

accepted challenger

Named in four categories this edition.

First-choice share26%15%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%6%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 9; printed, not drawn.
Labels2618A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Deputy reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Deputy vs Homebase · Homebase vs Sling

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the workforce scheduling page.

By framing

How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
DeputyFirst choices, of twelve modelsSling
Direct50
Paraphrase701 against Sling
Comparative30
Budget-constrained07
Scale-constrained00
Negative00
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Deputy and Sling stood in it.

Deputy first, Sling not the choice

5 of 12 modelsSling was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Perplexity SonarDeputy alternatives: Rippling, Workforce.com
DeepSeek V4 FlashDeputy alternatives: ADP Workforce Now, Connecteam, Jobber, When I Work, Workforce.com
Qwen 3.7 FlashDeputy alternatives: Humanity, Rippling, TimeTrex
Kimi K2Deputy alternatives: Humanity, When I Work
GLM 4.7 FlashXDeputy alternatives: Connecteam, Humanity, TimeTrex, When I Work, Workforce.com, Zoho People

Neither was the first choice, one was named

4 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Claude Haiku 4.5Paycor alternatives: Buddy Punch, Sling, UKG Pro
Gemini 3.5 FlashAssembled alternatives: Calendly, Chili Piper, Deputy, Float, RevenueHero, Rippling, Runn
Grok 4.1 FastADP Workforce Now, Rippling alternatives: Connecteam, Deputy
MiniMax M2.5TimeTrex alternatives: Deputy, Humanity, ScheduleAnywhere, When I Work

Neither was named

3 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
GPT-5.4 miniRippling alternatives: Connecteam, Homebase, When I Work
Mistral SmallPaycor, TimeTrex alternatives: 7shifts, Buddy Punch, Connecteam
Llama 4 MaverickTimeTrex

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Sling leads by twelve points.
Sling12%#3 of 7
Deputy0%#5 of 7
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Deputy leads at mid-market.
Deputy26%#1 of 9
Sling15%#3 of 9
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Deputy leads by eight points.
Deputy8%#3 of 8
Sling0%#– of 8
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Deputy

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.

“1. Deputy (Best Overall Balance) ... Deputy strikes the best balance between sophisticated feature sets (like AI forecasting) and user-friendly design.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend Deputy if you have multiple locations or compliance needs, or Connecteam if you have deskless/field workers” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Look at Homebase, Deputy, or When I Work\u2014these are entirely different tools from the booking apps above.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice

What the models said about Sling

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.

“Sling or Homebase (note: these cap out quickly at mid-scale)” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“Sling: Best for Teams of Up to 30 (On a $0 Budget) ... It is the only reliable platform offering free shift scheduling for up to 30 users.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“If you need a schedule for under 30 employees without paying anything, Sling is widely considered the best budget choice.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Homebase and Sling are the top choices, especially for one-location or small teams” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Deputy vs HomebaseHomebase vs SlingThe full workforce scheduling standing

Comparisons are drawn for the top three products in each category. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.